Henrikh Mkhitaryan and top scorer Romelu Lukaku are both in the squad (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

United then travelled via coach to their Bristol hotel, arriving mid-afternoon.

Mkhitaryan, 28, has been out of favour with Mourinho recently, not making the bench for eight of United's last nine games.

It is believed to have followed a row between the pair during a team meeting, and his absence has led to speculation that he could seen depart, with both Inter Milan and former side Borussia Dortmund reportedly interested.

Nonetheless, Mourinho has insisted that Mkhitaryan remains in his thoughts, but says competition for places is fierce and that others have simply been more deserving of late.

"We need to take the game really seriously but I'm going to make a few changes and it's possible Miki is involved.

"In this moment we are playing with Mata, Lingard, Rashford or Martial and Lukaku, and the bench has been Ibra and one of the other ones - Martial or Rashford. There is no space for everybody because you need balance on the bench too."

Paul Pogba travels and is expected to play (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

The Frenchman has missed United's last three games (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Pogba looks set to return for the holders, while youngster Axel Tuanzebe could also feature; he has made just one start this term, in the win over Swansea in the previous round.

David de Gea, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Phil Jones have all been rested, while Antonio Valencia is absent through injury. None travelled from Manchester Airport with the rest of the squad, with Mourinho keen not to make wholesale changes.

Chris Smalling is likely to captain the side again (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Sergio Romero will be between the sticks (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Jose Mourinho is wary of Bristol City (Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Mourinho views Lee Johnson's Robins, currently third in the Championship, as potentially tricky opposition and does not want to take chances.

The Portuguese said: "I'm making a few changes for the match, not many, because Bristol City are one of the best teams in the Championship.

"And for me now, the Championship is not the Championship any more of five, 10 years ago. The Championship is now high-quality teams with lots of high-quality players that could be playing in the Premier League easily."